Loose-leaf binder.



J. P. MENTZER.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILE 0000000000 7.

935,767. Patented 0011.5,1909.

O FAOYQ UYN (RA haRS WASH NGYON L C JOHN P. MENTZER, OF CHIGAG'O,ILLINOIS.

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5,1909.

Application filed October 2, 1907. Serial No. 395,513.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. MENTZER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Loose-Leaf Binders, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to loose leaf binders, and its object is to providea simple, practical and inexpensive form of binder, and also to arrangefor the easy turning of the leaves, and to prevent their being tornwhile being turned or removed or replaced.

In accordance with my invention I provide a loose leaf binder with flatclasps for holding the leaves temporarily in place, and provide leaveswith apertures for the clasps, slightly larger than the claspsthemselves and having a tongue cut on one side of the clasp so that inturning the leaves, or in any way moving them relatively to the clasps,the tongue being flexible, yields or gives somewhat, thereby taking upthe strain that would otherwise be imposed on the leaf by rubbingagainst it, and thus preventing tearing of the leaf and alsofacilitating its movement.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a looseleaf binder embodying my present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of aportion of one of the leaves or sheets for such binder.

The binder shown in the drawings, comprises a cover .1 with a flexiblehinge 2 to which are secured a pair of clasps 3, 3 for holding a seriesof leaves 4; The clasps 2 can be any suitable form of flat clasp, and asthe same form no part of my present invention, they are not describedherein in detail. In general they consist of two flat bands hinged attheir bases, so that they can swing open to permit the removal andreplacement of leaves. The leaves 4:, 4: are made with apertures 5 ofgenerally oblong shape and somewhat larger than the bands forming theclasps 3, 3. The leaves are also provided with tongues 6, 6 at the outerside of the apertures 5, 5,that is to say, at the side toward the outeredge of the binder. These tongues are conveniently of somewhat pointedshape as shown in Fig. 2, made by two diagonal slots or slits 7, 7. Thuswhen a leaf is turned as shown in Fig. l, the tongues 6, 6 bend or flexinwardly and thereby take up the strain that would otherwise be imposedupon the loose leaf, and prevent the same tearing and also facilitateits movement.

It will be understood that changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. For example, the tongues 6,6 can be made in other ways or of other shapes, but the arrangementshown herein I now prefer as being best qualified to carry out theinvention so far as I know.

hat I claim as my invention is l. A loose leaf binder having leafretaining members, and having loose leaves with apertures looselyfitting said members, a slot emanating from each of said aperturesproviding a flap in said leaves, yielding when said leaves are turnedfrom one side to the other of said binder.

2. A loose leaf binder having leaf retaining members, and having looseleaves with apertures loosely fitting said members, and provided withtongues formed in the leaves adjacent to said apertures for providing ayielding flap when said leaves are turned from one side to the other ofsaid binder.

3. A loose leaf for binders, having closed apertures and also havingcuts at the sides of said apertures to form tongues to facilitateturning and replacement of the leaves in the binder from one sidethereof to the other.

4-. A binder having flat clasps and also having loose leaves providedwith oblong apertures larger than said clasps and also provided. withtongues formed by diverging slots cut into the outer portion of theleaves at the ends of said slots.

5. A loose leaf for binders, provided with oblong apertures for claspsand also provided with tongues formed by diverging slits extending fromsubstantially the ends of said slots.

6. A loose leaf for binders, having apertures for mounting, and tonguesformed by slits in said leaf extending from said apertures providedadjacent to said apertures to present a yielding front when said leavesare turned on their mounting.

7. A loose leaf for binders, having an aperture for mounting and ayielding flap adjacent to said aperture to temporarily increase the sizeof said aperture when turning said leaf upon a mounting, said yieldingflap being on the side of said aperture away from the edge of said leaf.

8. A loose leaf for binders having an aperture and means adjacentthereto upon the side of said aperture away from the edge of said leafto temporarily increase the size of said aperture when turning said leafon its mounting to avoid straining the edges of said leaf around saidaperture.

9. A loose leaf for binders having an aperture and flexible meansadjacent thereto upon the side of said aperture away from the edge ofsaid leaf to temporarily increase the size of said aperture when turningsaid erture and means formed from said leaf adjacent thereto upon theside of said aperture away from the edge of said leaf to temporarilyincrease the size of said aperture when turning said leaf on itsmounting to avoid straining the' -edg'es of said leaf around saidaperture.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 21st day of JuneA. D., 1907. JOHN P. MENTZER. l/Vitnesses Y L. G. LUMAREE, ELIZABETHKUHLs.

